Pope Francis Declares Mother Teresa a Saint

Pope Francis arriving for the Canonization Mass at St. Peter's Square in the Vatican

 Photo courtesy: AFP/Getty Images (via www.huffingtonpost.in/)

The official canonization portrait of Mother Teresa hanging outside St. Peter's Basilica

Photo courtesy: Reuters (via www.huffingtonpost.in/)

Mother Teresa in the eyes of a Bangladeshi artist, who is also a Religious Brother (2012)

Artwork courtesy: Brother Shaymol Gomes, CSC

Pope Francis, in a solemn ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica Square in the Vatican today, officially proclaimed Mother Teresa of Calcutta a saint of the Catholic Church. With this gesture, the canonization process of Mother Teresa (1910-1997) comes to fruition.

According to the Catholic News Agency, the Pope in presence of about 120,000 people, declared: “For the honor of the Blessed Trinity, the exaltation of the Catholic faith and the increase of the Christian life, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and our own, after due deliberation and frequent prayer for divine assistance, and having sought the counsel of many of our brother Bishops, we declare and define Blessed Teresa of Calcutta to be a Saint,” Pope Francis exclaimed as the crowd roared with applause.

“We enroll her among the Saints, decreeing that she is to be venerated as such by the whole Church. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

Mother Teresa of Calcutta founded the Missionaries of Charity of nuns and Brothers and carried on the arduous but merciful work of alleviating the sufferings of the poorest of the poor as much as possible. Her work drew both appreciation and criticism.

To learn more about Mother Teresa, her works, canonization and criticism (we can learn a lot from the criticism, too), please read the following:

• Mother Teresa has officially been declared a saint! (Sept. 4, 2016)
• Pope Francis: Mother Teresa shows us our 'vocation to charity' (Sept. 4, 2016)
• FULL TEXT: Pope's homily at Mother Teresa's canonization (Sept. 4, 2016)
• Mother Teresa declared a saint before huge crowds in the Vatican (Sept. 4, 2016) 
• Mother Teresa declared saint by Pope Francis at Vatican (Sept. 4, 2016)
• Mother Teresa declared a saint by Catholic Church (Sept. 4, 2016)
• PHOTOS: Mother Teresa's Canonization Ceremony in Vatican City (Sept. 4, 2016)
• VIDEO: Pope Francis Canonizes Mother Teresa (Sept. 4, 2016)
• Mother Teresa Canonization: Rare photos of Saint Teresa of Calcutta (Sept. 4, 2016)
• Mother Teresa: Her Life and Canonization
• After decades of criticism, Mother Teresa's popularity endures as supporters weigh in on canonization (Sept. 4, 2016)
• How Mother Teresa rose above criticism to sainthood (Sept. 4, 2016)
• Mother Teresa and Her Critics (April 1, 2013)  
• A Critic's Lonely Quest: Revealing the Whole Truth About Mother Teresa (August 26, 2016)
• 5 Responses to the Riduculous Rancor of Some Toward Mother Teresa (April 5, 2016)

(To be updated further)